St Bride's: News

Britten - Ceremony of Carols

Dec 16, 2018

As is traditional in Advent, St Bride's choir will be singing Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols on Sunday 16th December at 6:30pm.

This is Britten's Op. 28, composed in 1942, and is a sequence of medieval texts set for upper voices accompanied by harp, which also plays a most atmospheric interlude based on the traditional plainsong "Hodie Christus natus est" (Today Christ is born). This chant is sung in procession to begin and end the work, which is preceded by a shortened form of Evensong, sung by men's voices.

This service complements the Britten by using two of the same elements - plainsong, which is used for the responses, psalm and canticles, and medievalism, with a piece of seasonal medieval music ending the service just before the "Ceremony of Carols" begins.

The event begins at 6:30pm and lasts for less than an hour - those who have attended in the past have found it to be a profoundly devotional experience and an oasis of calm amidst the bustle of the Christmas period.